Ever felt like your life needs a soundtrack?
Us, too. So we made LISTEN at Michigan Tech.
Inspired by the Copper Country's beauty, composers created soundtracks for the Quincy Mine grounds, Houghton Waterfront Trail, and Michigan Tech Campus. Using location-aware tech, this app lets you listen to the music as the composers intended - evolving as you explore the Keweenaw!
Not your typical music app.
We're bringing a brand new experience to your favorite Keweenaw spots.
Created for those who love being outside during Copper Country summers and falls, the LISTEN at Michigan Tech app is only available July 4 - October 9. Each summer, we add a new immersive experience with music that evolves as you travel through each LISTEN App Location. There are even a few "Easter eggs" that you can only hear at the time of day and place that inspired it!
“We know people don't want to be trapped inside in the summer, so we’re proud to bring original music and cutting-edge technology into the Keweenaw's beautiful outdoors.
Headphones and a mobile device are all you need.
Once you've downloaded the free app for your Apple or Android device, all you have to do is:
1. Head to a LISTEN location
2. Put on your headphones
3. Press play
4. Start exploring
Three Keweenaw Locations
From Kestner Waterfront Park
1100 W Lakeshore Dr
Houghton, MI 49931
to
East Houghton Waterfront Park
1220-1298 E Lakeshore Dr
Houghton, MI 49931
About the Composer
Adam Meckler is a trumpet player, composer, and educator living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where he is the Director of Jazz Studies at Michigan Technological University. Meckler is an Edwards Instrument Co. Performing Artist and Clinician and leads the award-winning Adam Meckler Orchestra (AMO), an 18-piece big band that plays his original compositions. The AMO’s debut album When the Clouds Look Like This was listed among 2014’s Best Jazz Releases by iTunes. Adam tours and records with The Hornheads (Prince), Youngblood Brass Band, Cory Wong, Dave Koz, and many others. His latest release with The Adam Meckler Orchestra, Music for the Water Walkway, is available via Shifting Paradigm Records and is on all streaming platforms now.
Area Added: 2021
Quincy Mine
49750 US Hwy 41
Hancock, MI 49930
About the Music
It was easy for new music composer Libby Meyer to be enthusiastic about composing for the site central to America’s copper mining efforts from 1846 to 1945.
"I was inspired by the people who worked at the mine and whose families were raised and supported by this challenging and often dangerous work," says Meyer. "I tried to imagine the trail when the buildings were new and in use and hear the voices and songs of the people who worked there."
I tried to imagine the trail when the buildings were new and in use and hear the voices and songs of the people who worked there.
Meyer said she also enjoyed working on a blended medium: “I was definitely excited to work on a project that blended art, technology, and in this case, history. The idea of bringing these spaces alive and allowing people to experience them in new ways through music and technology is really inspiring.”
About the Composer
Libby Meyer is a composer whose work reflects the natural rhythms and patterns of the world around her.
Her music, including chamber, orchestral, choral, wind symphony, film, dance, and theater, has been commissioned and performed throughout the United States.
Libby has served as Composer-in-Residence at Isle Royale National Park and the Visby International Center for Composers (Sweden). She has received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning, The Michigan Tech Research Excellence Fund, The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, The Sorel Foundation, and The American Composers Forum.
Recent projects include a new score for the 1925 film The Red Kimona, released by Kino Films in November of 2018, and Lakescape, commissioned by the Keweenaw Symphony (funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) in honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, and the release of her new album on Albany Records, To What Listens.
Libby holds a DMA in Music Composition from Northwestern University and is a Lecturer in Music Theory/Composition at Michigan Tech University. Find recordings of Libby’s music on her website.
Area Added: 2021
About the App Developer
Hailed as interactive music pioneers, The Holladay Brothers developed LISTEN at Michigan Tech's location-aware technology. Hays and Ryan Holladay's first project using this technology wove music through the spaces of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It was lauded as "magical" by The Washington Post. The brothers have since collaborated on many projects, including one for New York City's Central Park. Ryan spoke about their work at a TED conference, the video of which has been viewed more than 1 million times.
Start exploring with the LISTEN at Michigan Tech app now!